Cotton offers a new ecologically friendly way to clean up oil spills

ScienceCodex.com - Seshadri Ramkumar and colleagues note that a particular need exists
for oil-spill sorbents that are abundantly available at relatively low cost, sustainable
and biodegradable.

Seshadri Ramkumar and colleagues note that a particular need exists for oil-spill
sorbents that are abundantly available at relatively low cost, sustainable and biodegradable.
There have been extensive studies on fibers such as barley straw, kapok and wool —
but big gaps in knowledge about their basic crude oil-uptake mechanisms and no data
on unprocessed raw cotton. Ramkumar's team decided to fill those gaps with research
on the oil sorption properties of low micronaire cotton, a form of unprocessed cotton
with relatively less commercial value.